Gay Group Rebuffed in Bid To Join St. Patrick's Parade

By JERRY GRAY

Published: March 8, 1991

Correction Appended

In recent years, controversy has become as much a part of the St. Patrick's Day parade as Irish bagpipes, shillelaghs, politicians and green beer.

This year, organizers of the 230-year-old parade have been asked to allow a group of Irish lesbians and gay men to join the parade, and city officials have been asked to look into whether their refusal has to do with the parade being oversubscribed or its organizers being prejudiced.

"I suppose the notion that Irish people can be lesbian and gay is quite remarkable for some people," said Anne Maguire, a spokeswoman for the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization, which was formed last April. "So I guess the St. Patrick's parade committee was quite shocked."

"We're Irish and we're gay, and this is part of our heritage," she said. Joining the parade, she said, would be a way of changing a sense that "you can be Irish in New York, or you can be gay, but it hasn't been that you can be both." Request Turned Down

The Ancient Order of Hibernians, organizers of the parade, turned down the group's request late last year, saying there was no room in the March 17 parade for the 135-member organization. Organizers expect 205 groups and 150,000 marchers in the parade.

"Currently there are some 30 organizations ahead of the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization on the list waiting to be admitted to the parade," Francis Beirne, parade chairman, said.

Ms. Maguire's group responded to the denial by asking to see the waiting list. When the organizers refused, the group asked the city's Office for the Lesbian and Gay Community to see whether any discrimination was involved in the decision.

The Office for the Lesbian and Gay Community and the Office of European-American Affairs met last night for about two and a half hours with the parade organizers and the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization to try to mediate the dispute, which was first reported yesterday in The New York Post.

The city officials would say only that the meeting was productive but that it did not end with a resolution of the dispute. They said all the parties would meet again early next week.

Both sides declined to comment, honoring an agreement to keep their talks confidential.

Mr. Beirne said there was no discrimination in his committee's decision. "For the past several years, under pressure by New York City authorities, the parade committee has been struggling to cut back on the number of marchers," he said, "and to conclude the event as early as possible to avoid costly overtime for city agencies."

In the mid-80's, parade organizers faced a yearly debate over the candidacy of Dorothy Hayden Cudahy, a 66-year-old radio broadcaster from Queens, for grand marshal -- a position that had never been held by a woman. Mrs. Cudahy was elected in 1989 on her fourth attempt in a contest with another woman.

Correction: March 9, 1991, Saturday, Late Edition - Final An article yesterday about the St. Patrick's Day parade misstated the parade date. It is Saturday, March 16, a day before the holiday. The article also misstated the source of a news disclosure about a dispute over whether a group of Irish lesbians and gay men would be allowed to march. It was reported first in The Irish Voice and later in The New York Post.